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The Insulin Express

One Backpack, Five Continents, and the Diabetes Diagnosis That Changed Everything

"In the middle of a yearlong backpacking trip around the world with his wife, Cassie, Oren Liebermann is teaching English to young Buddhist monks in Pokhara, Nepal when his body begins to fail him. He is constantly thirsty and exhausted, and by the time he steps on a scale, he has lost forty-five pounds. At a local clinic, a doctor gives him a diagnosis that will change his life forever: "I'm sorry to tell you, my friend, that you are a diabetic." Devastated, Liebermann is trapped in a third-world hospital, trying to recover enough to fly home. His friends and family urge him to call off the rest of his trip. He had earlier quit his job as a TV news reporter for this dream-come-true journey, but the nightmare diagnosis has thrown his world into disarray. However, despite this medical hell and a life-changing disease, Liebermann and Cassie make a decision. They have an adventure to finish, and he has the rest of his life to live. Bold, raw, and poignantly candid, The Insulin Express tells the story of what happens when the best made travel plans are subject to the ever-present chaos of life, and how the worst night of one's life can turn into the trip of a lifetime. In spite of a chilling fear of his chronic disease that almost kills him in the Himalayas, Liebermann hikes along the Great Wall of China, conquers the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and sips cobra whiskey in Laos. What begins as a travel chronicle across thirty countries transforms into a single journey of resilience and self-discovery--getting hopelessly lost and then wonderfully found in a world full of surprises and possibilities."--provided by publisher.